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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Tales from Mariposa Forest (giveaway!)

A few months ago I had the pleasure of discovering Mariposa Forest through Jennifer, the talented storyteller behind these enchanting tales. I loved the whole concept of it, I mean - what child (or adult, for that matter!) doesn't love to get mail. And this is no ordinary mail, not by a long shot! The brightly colored envelopes that arrive at our door are filled with magical stories that take my children to another land and simultaneously invite them to explore our own forest around us. Not to mention the exquisite photographs that help to bring the stories to life. (Oh what I wouldn't give to pick Annie's brain on improving my own photography!) My girls truly believe these stories are being sent to them by forest creatures far away and look forward to receiving them in our mailbox each month. In fact, they love them so much they are currently working on a little something to send back to their favorite forest dwellers. More on that later, but shhhh... don't let Jennifer and Annie know!

Both Annie and I would like to say a huge thank you to Nicole for giving this opportunity to tell

her wonderful readers about our stories.

How did Mariposa Forest begin?

Mariposa Forest began as a way to channel both of our creative energies. Annie told me of anidea that she had and we started talking and as we talked, things changed and evolved andthen one day it all clicked. We both have a strong love of nature and we spend most of our dayswith our children in the forest where we live. Our connection to nature and to this piece of Earthwe call home is something we both feel is extremely important for us as well as our children.Mariposa Forest is our way of sharing our love of storytelling, photography, and that connectionto nature with children and parents everywhere.

Are your stories inspired by a particular forest around you?

Yes. While the stories aren’t “set” in a real place, I draw inspiration from the forest thatsurrounds us. We live in the beautiful Gatineau Hills in West Quebec and we spend our daysroaming and exploring the incredible beauty all around. Often while we are out, I will see atree stump or hollow log and wonder who lives there. I often tell my children little stories of thecreatures that might live there. I feel very connected to this place and so when I am writing, mystories often come from this forest.

Please tell us a little about Mariposa forest (and a bit about yourselves)

In a nutshell, Mariposa Forest is an imaginary experience delivered to your mailbox. More than

just stories, we deliver something that rarely happens in our fast paced, digital world, we delivera real, tangible letter to your child in the mail. Yes, old fashioned snail mail. Both Annie andI have small children and we realized how excited they would get to receive birthday cards,holiday cards, even the weekly grocery circular. We combined my storytelling with Annie’sbeautiful photography, threw in our love of nature and a dash of hard work and came up withMariposa Forest. They are storytelling stories, meant to be read out loud. The letters come fromthe inhabitants of the forest and follow the seasons. We include photography of the forest, justto give a glimpse or a new perspective. The stories also include a Reflection to help the childrenstop and take a look at the world around them and observe what is happening where they live.Our hope is that no matter where you live, whether it is an Urban jungle or the remote forests,the stories will help your child feel their connection to the world around them as well as opentheir imagination to see the world as a canvas for stories and creative play.

Giveaway details.... 3 Introductory Packages to 3 readers.

We are offering three of your readers the chance to win an “Introductory Package”. This is a

good way to see how it all works and experience what we offer without committing to a longterm subscription. The Package includes a “Welcome Letter” sent to your child to let them knowthat something special will soon be arriving in the mail just for them. Next up is the Introductorystory. This is the first story sent out and it helps the child orient themselves with the Forest andwith some of the characters. Finally, they will receive the current seasonal story that is beingmailed. This gives both parent and child a chance to gain the full experience of what we offer.We should also note that if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, we are happy to mail a “TopsyTurvy” mailing. This is one of our current subscriber’s term for a reverse mailing, meaning wecan mail Spring/Summer stories for you as we are approaching Winter here.We’ve launched a blog this week -- please come visit! We’re also launching a newsletter shortly- and when you subscribe to our newsletter, you receive a FREE audio reading of one of ourstories.

Please visit our blog from our website,

www.MariposaForest.comAlso, we are looking for others who want to share a post on how they are connecting to naturewhere they live. If you are interested, contact us through the website!

For a chance to win this generous package, simply leave a comment on this post! Easy and simple - no need to jump through hoops! And remember there are three winners.If you would like additional chances to win:- Post this giveaway to Facebook- Like Mariposa Forest on Facebook- Let me know you are a dear follower of Frontier Dreamsand please make sure to come back and leave separate comment s letting me know you've done so!I will close comments on Tuesday November 6th and announce the winners within this post that night.Comments closedThe winners are: Nahuatl ·

Lovely idea, we actually write a lot of paper letter and also love to receive them, thank you for the opportunity.

Ash ·

I am a follower of Frontier Dreams :) I love the inspiration, the peace, and the beautiful photography. Kudos Nichole!

Welcome Friends

Thank you for joining me here. My name is Nicole Spring AKA wife, Waldorf homeschooling Mama to four sweet little ones, homemaker of the radical kind, knitter, cook, seamstress, student of life as well as my children, crafter, girl of all trades... and always with a camera in hand to document our days so we may look back at these glorious yet exhausting times.

I enjoy hearing from you and would love it so much if you wouldn't mind taking the time to leave a comment. They mean so much to me (honestly, they make my day!). I appreciate not only seeing all that you have to say but also being blessed to get to know you better. If you ask a question please check back here for my response. I try my hardest to respond quickly. Thank you so much!!